


Snipping the Ties that Bind

by Lady_Felucia



Category: Ahsoka Tano - Fandom, Anakin Skywalker - Fandom, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano - Freeform, Anakin Skywalker misses his Padawan, Attachment, Clone Captain Rex, Force Bond (Star Wars), Friendship, Inability to let go, Jedi Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi, Master Anakin Skywalker, Multi, Padawan Ahsoka Tano, Post-Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Post-Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Snips - Freeform, Star Wars - Freeform, Star Wars: the Clone Wars - Freeform, The Clone Army, The Clone Wars - Freeform, anakin skywalker - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-29 01:52:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11430687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Felucia/pseuds/Lady_Felucia
Summary: It's been weeks since Ahsoka Tano's shocking exit from The Jedi Order, and her former Master, Anakin Skywalker, still has not adjusted to life without his beloved Padawan.Against the Council's wishes, and often without their knowledge, he has made numerous attempts to reach out to her and convince her to return 'home', but to no avail.One day, a surprise bombing from a group of war protesters injures several communities in Coruscant, among them, the one where Ahsoka has been residing. Seeing the less-than-luxurious quarters where the attack was made, and knowing that Ahsoka actually lives in that place, resolves Anakin's mind further than ever about the need to bring Snips back home where she belongs.((Meant to be a very short snippet story))





	Snipping the Ties that Bind

The city Hospital was cold, and dim.

When Anakin had heard about the bombing, in truth, he didn't think much of it one way or the other.

Protests against the war were becoming increasingly more frequent, and the rise in violence and extremist tendencies was escalating as well. In the aftermath of the explosion, Anakin and several Clone troopers were sent to oversee relief efforts in the sector of the city that was affected.

He stood and watched as the Clones gathered up the remaining people, and assessed whether they needed medical assistance or not. Temporary shelters were being constructed in the square where the living quarters had once been.

"General Skywalker?"

Anakin turned around, facing Captain Rex, who was holding in his hands a piece of paper.

"Yes, Captain Rex?"

"Sir, I have a list of all who live here, and the ones that have been positively identified. Many have already been taken to the hospital, but we still have several unaccounted for."

Anakin took the lost and read it quietly to himself. When he got towards the end of the list, his breath caught in his chest, and the world began to swim around him.

"Ahsoka?", he asked the Captain in a shaking voice, looking down at the list in disbelief.

Rex nodded solemnly.

"Sir, its _possible_ she may have been one of those taken directly to the Hospital, **before** her name was registered."

Anakin handed the list back to him, and ran to his speeder cruiser.

"Can you handle the operations until I return, Captain Rex?", Anakin called over his shoulder.

The man smiled and nodded. "Of course I can, Sir. I hope you find her."

And he had.

Rex had been correct, she had been taken to the Hospital straight away with a rather severe concussion. She was unconscious when Anakin finally arrived at her room, hooked up to several beeping machines, a medical droid tending to her.

Anakin sat down in the chair next to her bedside, and gently took her hand into his own.

Snips.

"This wouldn't have happened, had you been safely at the Temple," he said to her, quietly. He lowered his head and sighed, staring blankly at the floor as the Med droid continued to work over her.

"Do not fear, Master Jedi. I have spent a number of years living amongst the tribe of this particular species; and I have an extensive amount of experience in treating this kind. I am confident that she will fully recover."

Anakin nodded numbly, still refusing to let go of his former Padawan's hand.

As the droid looked over Ahsoka's scans, he said, 

"Well, her Module is still in-tact. Surprising, considering the crude technology of her people."

"Her--Module?"

"Tortugans," the droid said with an indulgent sneering sound. "Another of their idealistic pacifist tactics."

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"During the time that your friend there was born, Tortuga was entering into a state of civil war. Half the tribe wanted to remain neutral, the other wished to fall under Separatist protection. Of the neutral ones, their doctors implemented a plan called Memory Module, where a chip is inserted into the brain of all current and newborn Tortugans that could actually erase memories."

"What good would that do for the Tortugans?", Anakin asked, perplexed.

"You see, they believed that if they had nothing in their heads to tell those who may capture them, whether about their secret tribe location, or resources, or anything at all, then their captors would leave them alone." Here the droid shook its head. "Quite foolish, and horribly naive. They didn't seem to realize that the Separatists would gladly torment ALL those they captured, whether they knew anything of value or not."

"Unbelievable," Anakin muttered, gently rubbing his eyes. "Why did she never tell me of this before?"

"There is a good chance that she did not know herself, sir. Most Tortugans are given their Access Controller at 5 years, and taught how to use them. But your friend here; wasn't she taken into the Jedi Order at 3?"

Anakin nodded.

"That explains it, then. Another two years and she would have been made privy to the secret. But now . . ."

"Is it possible to initiate this . . . this amnesia, without the controller?"

"No. However, I can create an Access Controller for it. It will be rough, but will serve its purpose. Shall I get started, Master Jedi?"

Anakin looked once more to Ashoka's bruised, unconscious face, and his resolve hardened. He nodded, and the droid went on his way.

\--- --- --- --- ---

"Anakin."

Anakin didn't take his eyes off the screens; rather, he acknowledged Obi Wan's presence with a quick nod.

"The droid told me what you intend to do."

Anakin had had several large screens set up near the still-unconscious Ahsoka's bedside. Projected were hundreds of thousands of images, thoughts, feelings and memories from the young woman's life. Anakin was carefully sifting through them all, to get to the time period he needed to erase.

The image he had been looking for finally popped up on the screen, fuzzy but completely distinguishable. How could he forget it? He had been carrying it in his heart since the day it happened.

He and Ahsoka were standing on the marble steps leading into the Jedi Temple. He was pleading with her to come back, and she was telling him that she needed to pursue her own path, away from the Jedi.

Obi Wan watched with him, his own heart aching at the obvious pain Anakin was suffering.

"You think this is wrong," Anakin said, sensing his Master's feelings.

Obi Wan remained silent, but his thoughts betrayed him.

"Master--think of what this will mean for her. She is still young, still talented. If I can erase all of her time with me; if I can go back to the day we met, think of how we could start over!"

"Start over?"

"She could forget about the expulsion, the trial, Baress' betrayal, everything. I could hone her skills, reshape my lessons to be more representative of the Jedi Code and not filled with recklessness as it was before."

At this, his Master gave him a small smile. "I rather doubt that, Anakin. The recklessness is a part of you, and likely always will be."

"Master, I'm being serious, here. You know the war doesn't appear to be ending anytime soon; we can reinstate her as Commander Tano. I know for a fact that Captain Rex would be happy to have her on board again."

"Funny you should bring up Rex, because what you are intending to do with her would make her no better than one of them: a Clone."

Anakin turned to face him, eyes blazing with anger.

"It's not the same thing, and you know it!"

Obi Wan calmly folded his arms in front of his chest.

"The Clones were manufactured for this war. That's the only reason they exist; to be soldiers for the Republic. They don't have a choice. If you alter Ahsoka's memories, or take away events in her past that led her to where she is today, you would be taking away her freedom of choice."

"But Master--"

"Our memories, both good and bad, help shape us into who we are destined to become. Taking that time away from her, even if the purpose behind it is a noble one, would be wrong."

Anakin remained silent, the Controller still gripped in his hand.

"Think about it," Obi Wan said, softly. "If you had the opportunity to erase your memories of your mother, even if you knew it would eradicate the pain in your heart over her death; would you do it? Would you give that part of yourself up?"

Anakin bit his lower lip, and shook his head imperceptibly. 

"And you have a choice. Don't take hers away from her, Anakin. It's wrong."

Anakin struggled with his conscience, gripping the Controller tighter and tighter in his hand.

Deep down, he knew that what he was doing was wrong. Part of him wanted to help Ahsoka, as he genuinely believed that the Order was the best possible place for her, yes; but the bigger part of him was doing this for himself.

It was a chance to correct his mistake.

A chance to hold on to yet another person he did not want to lose.

"Anakin," said Obi Wan, sensing his troubled feelings, "Out of all the things I've tried to teach you, I feel that this may be the one I've failed the most with. Your plan indicates a severe inability to let go."

He put his hand on the younger man's shoulder, squeezing lightly.

"Let her go."

He turned and walked from the room. At the door he stopped and turned his head slightly, saying,

"I have trust in you, that you'll do the right thing."

Anakin sat back down beside her, his eyes glued to the screen. Another memory-scene had popped up, this one being in the Temple training facility. Anakin had been scolding her about a recent mission where she had disobeyed his orders and put her life in danger.

"Master, its only what you would have done!", Ahsoka argued with him in the memory.

Anakin had shaken his head. "What you did was foolish, and dangerous. You could have gotten everybody killed! You must understand that you are not only responsible for your own life, but the lives you are protecting!"

Ahsoka had lowered her head in shame.

"Forgive me, Master," she had said in a low voice, eyes still lowered to the ground.

Anakin had patted her back lightly. "Cheer up, Snips. It may be that I was a tiny bit harsher than normal, to ensure that you saw my point."

He had raised his Padawan's chin with his fingers, looking her in the eye.

"In time, you will learn to trust your instincts, and do what is right, both for yourself and those around you. Now, go and get some rest."

She had smiled, and nodded, as she obeyed his instructions.

As the memory faded from the screen, Anakin shook his head, chuckling softly.

"Snips . . ."

He sighed, and quickly crushed the Controller in his mechanical hand, scattering tiny bits of debris along the floor.

The droid came back in to check on his patient.

"Ah, Master Jedi; I presume you did what you needed to do?"

Anakin nodded.

"I want updates on her condition every few hours, until she's regained consciousness," he told the droid, and it nodded. "Then, see to it that she is returned safely to her home."

The droid nodded its assent, watching as Anakin left the room and headed back for the Temple.


End file.
